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The Storms of Chai
''The Storms of Chai ''is the 29th book in the Lone Wolf series. Published in 2016, it takes place 18 years after the events of The Hunger of Sejanoz. Plot After Grand Master retrieved the Claw of Naar in Vampirium ''and delivered it to the Elder Magi in ''The Hunger of Sejanoz, the Elder Magi have been trying unsuccessfully to destroy it. Grand Master is now based in the new Kai Monastery on the Isle of Lorn. One day, Lone Wolf arrives with all the other Grand Masters of the New Order, and briefs Grand Master on the dangers now facing Magnamund: hordes of Agarashi have surfaced, and Naar's agents are mustering in several places. Lone Wolf dispatches his Grand Masters to these mustering points to thwart the amassing evil. It has been discovered that the Claw of Naar is actually a two-part artifact, consisting of the Claw and the Eye of Agarash. Grand Master is assigned to go to Chai, where the Sages of Chaman have discovered the Eye: it is one of the gems in the Khea Khan's throne. Lord Rimoah drops Grand Master off at the Chai border town of H'lau, and assigns one of his agents, a Chai Imperial Guardsman named Anseng, to guide Grand Master to the Chai capital Pensei. The local agent of Naar, a Nadziran named Zashnor, sets out to stop Grand Master with an invasion of Chai from Bhanar. His Agarashi soon track down Grand Master, and the mission quickly runs into difficulties. Although Grand Master eliminates the evil entities that attempt to stop him, at the village of Uzam, Anseng and Grand Master are separated, forcing Grand Master to proceed alone. Nonetheless, he makes it to Pensei, where the Khea-Khan Lao Tin. entrusts the Eye to him, as well as assigns an escort of four Imperial Guardsmen. The return trip turns out to be even more perilous, as Zashnor's Agarashi launch a full-blown invasion. Grand Master and the Guardsmen successfully defend a siege of Vabou, where they encounter Anseng again, who had been slain and resurrected as a zombie leader. Although a victory, the route to H'lau quickly turns out to be blocked by Agarashi, forcing Grand Master to try to reach Dwala instead and signal Lord Rimoah from there. Along the way, one of the Imperial Guardsmen is slain, another leaves to return the dead Guardsman's body home, and a third falls into depression. The last Guardsman, a captain named Quang, perishes in the crossing across the Thukona Estuary. Grand Master finally reaches Dwala, but Zanthor personally leads an attack on the town. Grand Master encounters and slays three of Dwala's lieutenants before finally defeating Zanthor himself. Lord Rimoah arrives the next day, retrieving the Eye. The mission is successful, but when Grand Master arrives back at the Kai Monastery, he learns that of the other five Grand Masters, at least two have perished and the last is apparently imprisoned. As Lone Wolf plans to complete the remaining missions, Grand Master retires to rest. Notes * The scene at the start of the adventure, when Lord Rimoah conjures a bubble of clear air to let the skyship fly in a thunderstorm, is the first time in the series in which Lord Rimoah uses magic explicitly. * This adventure confirms that, like Lone Wolf, Grand Master ages slower than normal. * Lone Wolf expressed in Vampirium that he was tempted to take on Grand Master's mission himself, but could not because of circumstances. In this adventure, it is unclear what Lone Wolf was doing while his Grand Masters were on their missions. * There are only two instant-death scenarios in the book, both of which can be completely mitigated by discipline choice or items. Internal link *The Storms of Chai: walkthrough